Olive Pasadena Gloss Border Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

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You may order samples online. Sample must be purchased and shipping charges apply. Please keep in mind sample tiles may vary in color from future orders due to the handmade process.

Santa Barbara tiles are NOT frost resistant, they should not be used on outdoor installations with potential freezing temperatures.

The Making of Santa Barbara Ceramic Tiles

For many decades tile has been an essential, vibrant, and expressive element of California’s Spanish-Revival and Mediterranean architectural styles.

Ceramic tile, particularly hand made and hand decorated tiles, can be found in historic buildings in places such as San Diego or San Clemente; in seaside estates like Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, or Malibu; in canyon villas, such as Rancho Santa Fe, Beverly Hills, and Hancock Park; and bungalows, particularly in Pasadena, North Park (San Diego), and Palm Springs.

Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tile collection evokes the California landscape, with a combination of vivid and subtle colors offset by neutrals and matte finishes. It is this combination of mattes and gloss finishes in a vast array of colors that our Santa Barbara ceramic tile becomes rich, vibrantly alive, and harmonious.

Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tile collection exhibits many different colors and designs to choose, to inspire, and allow you to create your own pattern. Our ceramic tile is handcrafted and decorated by hand using an ancient method called Cuerda Seca that literally translates to dry cord.

The technique of making Cuerda Seca tile has been used for centuries in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The depth and richness of the colors are obtained by painstakingly applying every drop of glaze by hand onto a delineated design.

If your next project includes the installation of tile in a kitchen, bathroom, stairs, fireplace, fountain, patio, entryway, or even a coffee table, consider Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tiles to create a lavish and elegant ambience. The sensuality and sophistication of our tiles is the result of the human touch that has created them.

Order your sample tiles today to experience the true nature of Tierra y Fuego’s tiles. We recommend you to touch and contemplate them in order to effectively appreciate their uniqueness and high quality.

PLEASE NOTE: the Santa Barbara ceramic tiles are not frostproof. If they are intended to be used in high humidity areas, we recommend the use of a penetrating sealer, specially on matte finish tiles.

The technique of making Cuerda Seca tile has been used for centuries in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The depth and richness of the colors are obtained by painstakingly applying every drop of glaze by hand onto a delineated design.

Raw tile bisquets drying. When dry they are ready be to deliniated with the outline of a particular design, and then to apply all the tile colors.

The elements in the formula of the outlines resist the flow of the glaze placed in the spaces between the lines of the pattern in the design, leaving a dry line visible as the glazes are dried on the surface of the tile. This process is known as the “cuerda seca” technique meaning “dry cord”. Originally the Spanish and Moors used animal fats and grease as ingredients to make the dry line and separate the glazes.

The design of the tile is then traced on the surface of the tile using the ancient method called Cuerda Seca, or Dry Cord. The formula used to trace the design acts as a liquid repellent which will keep the colors from mixing.

Glazes are similar to glass and are made from glass-forming materials, such as silica, alumina, and lime with various mineral oxides added for coloring, such as iron (tan), copper (green), manganese (black), uranium (orange), nickel (brown), cobalt (blue), chromium (red), and antimony (yellow). This ingredients are mixed in a finely form. Our Santa Barbara Malibu style glaze formulas are made only by experts who have spent years at our factory developing them. This a complicated process since we constantly use matte and glossy glazed finishes within the same tile.

Showing bulb syringes; used to inlay glazes onto the tile.

Artisan applying the different glazes onto the outlined tile design. Every single drop of glazed is painstakingly applied onto a tile by hand. The glazes have to have the right thickness: if too thin, the color would break; if too thick the colors would run together or overrun the tile. It takes months of training to become efficient at decorating tiles with a syringe.

Artisans apply the different glazes onto the outlined tile design.

Artisans apply the different glazes onto the outlined tile design with great care and attention to detail.

The tile is then fired at approximately 1850° Fahrenheit. During this process the elements in the “dry line” are fused to form a charred dry line separating the glazes.

When the tiles are removed from the kiln the black line makes a contrast with the brilliant colors of the gloss and matte glazes complementing the design, giving life to unique beautiful tile.

This is the same technique used by the legendary Malibu and Catalina Potteries of the 1920s. Tile from these potteries can still be found in many historical buildings in Southern California one such example is the Adamson House in Malibu, which displays an impressive collection of Malibu tile. This state house was designated as a Point of Historical Interest in 1985 and is open to the public.

• Industry standard recommends adding on 5-10% additional tile to account for waste, special cuts, or other unforeseen problems. It is recommended to revise measurements and tile quantities with an expert installer.

Care and Considerations

• Clean with mild cleanser and damp cloth, do not use abrasive cleaners. • Some glazes such as matte colors are acid sensitive. Do not use cleaners with an acid base since these may cause discoloration.